Love Potion
by AzureRose124
Summary: Takes place: Mid-way after the episode "Helga's Love Potion" Helga drinks an "out-of-love potion" and loses all feelings for Arnold - or anything else, for that matter, so lets say the ending NEVER HAPPENED…what happen if the potion was real?


**Love Potion**

**By AzureRose**

**A/N: Hiya Peeps! Brokenrose24 here with Azure129! Bringing you the best of the 90s. XD! Azure129: Yup :) And having some fun messing with the ending to one of the most hilarious HA! eps ;) **

**Takes place: Mid-way after the episode "Helga's Love Potion" **Helga's had enough of her "I love him, and yet I hate him" feelings for Arnold, so she drinks an "out-of-love potion" and loses all feelings for Arnold - or anything else, for that matter, so lets say the ending NEVER HAPPENED…what would happen if the potion was real?

XXXXXXXXX

It was a typical afternoon at P.S. 118 and Helga was just typically walking down the hall like any typical fourth grader might be…Just feeling as bland as ever, ever since she had woken up from that weird dream thanks to the love potion she had consumed the other day.

Anyway, she was about to round a corner…just a typical corner on this typical day, feeling nothing special inside of her. Just…typical…

SLAM!

"Are you okay?"

_Arnold…Of course. How typical,_ came her bland, monotone thoughts to her mind. She just let out a breath, not even batting an eye. "I'm fine. I didn't feel a thing." She stood herself up and dusted herself. _It's like he's nothing to me. Absolutely nothing. He's just another person in the hundreds of people in this school. _The observation was made with the same carelessness that all of her observations lately had been being made with.

Arnold walked past her.

She was ready to walk on herself, when…

"Helga?"

Apparently he had stopped. She turned to look at him over her shoulder, still feeling nothing. "What?"

The boy before her blinked and glanced down. "Um…this is gonna sound dumb but…I noticed that you didn't torture me at all today and…I just wondered if you're sick or something." He looked at her with a touch of actual concern.

Helga just let out an average breath. _Huh…I guess him caring about me would have made my heart flutter or something before._ Now, however…she just felt nothing. Like there was literally nothing in her chest. A faint pulse of an organ to let her know that her blood was still pumping but otherwise, her heart was just still and lifeless. And yet…she couldn't help a small smile. _Well, I don't love him but he is my friend and does care about me. That's kind of nice, I suppose. _ "No, I'm fine, Arnold. But thanks for asking."

Arnold smiled back at her and gave a small nod. "Well, see you tomorrow." And then he turned and went on his way.

Helga let out another breath, her smile instantly relaxing back into that blasé look of hers. "Arnold. So normal, so average and yet…what a regular guy."

Heavy breathing that she knew all too well then came up behind her.

"Oh. Hi Brainy." She acknowledged the asthmatic boy behind her and then went upon her way…hearing a strange sound of glass breaking and something falling to the floor as she did so.

XXXXXXXXXXX

"Well, see you tomorrow." Arnold said these words and then with a smile headed off down the hall. He tried to feel happy…to tell himself that he had done the right thing asking Helga if she was okay even if it had sounded a little dumb asking someone why they weren't torturing you…and yet…

Something stuck with him a little. He almost felt…a little…slighted. He couldn't describe it really. It almost felt like she had gone and changed and…he was maybe a little hurt that she hadn't even talked to him about it. He shook his head instantly at the idea though. "She's fine and…she's not bugging you and…it's not your business anyway. She said she was fine."

And yet still, despite these words to himself, Arnold made a note at the back of his mind to keep trying to talk to Helga about this. Maybe something really was bothering her and she was just too defensive to open up about it. Besides…her being this…okay with him was starting to make him a little…uncomfortable.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_A little while later…on the bridge._

Helga noticed a shadow beside her while she was looking down upon the waters below.

"Hey, Pheebs."

"Um…actually, Helga…it's me…"

Helga didn't even bother to blink. She just shrugged a little. _Can't even recognize his likeness right anymore…just like when I was walking by the flower shop and looking at the clouds and the billboard before. That potion really was potent._ She barely glanced at him. "Oh, hey Arnold. How's it going?" She just looked at him and felt nothing….just…empty. The idea of being 'empty' struck her for a second but she didn't have time to think about it too much as Arnold started speaking again, and, since he was her friend, she was nice enough to listen.

Arnold had been on his bike, which he now hopped off of and placed leaning against the wall of the bridge. He looked at her with that same concern from the hallway. "I'm okay, Helga…Thank you," he replied sincerely.

Helga let out a breath. "That's good." Then she turned away and went back to looking at the water.

Arnold didn't seem to leave though.

"Hey, um….Helga?"

Helga didn't even look at him this time. She just nodded. "Yeah?"

"I, um…" a touch of nervousness was in his voice. "I know you said you were okay today but…are you really sure you are? I don't want to pry or anything and I know it's not any of my business but…you seem a little…just…different, I guess." He leaned on the railing now right beside her, trying to look at her eyes which were still focused on the water. There really did seem to be something missing from them.

Helga just shrugged. "I know I'm different. I tried to change something and it worked and now this is me. I guess I'm not as…fun anymore but…whatever." She rested her head on one of her hands, letting out a little sigh.

Arnold frowned a bit. He opened his mouth, at first wanting to question her more about this…but then felt a touch of worry that if he pried too much so quickly some of her defensiveness would come back and she would shut him out entirely. He considered for a moment…and then asked cautiously. "Hey, um…Helga? Well…if you're not busy right now and…feeling bored, um…Maybe we could hang out somewhere? Like at my house or at your house? I could take you somewhere on my bike." He swallowed, waiting with hope for her response. _Maybe spending a little time with me might make her open up more all on her own…_

Helga glanced at him, glanced at the bike, glanced back at him. She shrugged again. "If you want then, sure, I guess. I really am kind of bored."

Arnold smiled a little, feeling his hope grow. "Okay then, Helga. Um…where would you like to go?"

She thought about it for a moment, shrugging her shoulders and looking towards the direction of a certain place they haven't visited in a very long while. "It seems no one has even visited Mighty Pete in a long while, it might be a good spot to just relax or something."

Arnold thought about it for a moment. Sure they hadn't gone to Mighty Pete is a long while and yet for some odd reason it felt a little different. This wasn't your typical, 'Let's all head to Mighty Pete and play cards' ordeal since the gang wasn't with them. If anything this seem a bit like a- Shaking his head to free himself of the off thought, Arnold turned his attention to the bored looking blonde girl still waiting for his answer, blushing at the idea of her watching his odd display just now (always lost in his thoughts). "Sure we'll head there but I'm sort of a bit hungry. Would you care to come to my house? Maybe we can make some sandwiches and bring them to Mighty Pete?" As soon as he finished his sentence his stomach made a loud growl. He blushed and rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment.

Helga's expression didn't change; she let out a very mellow sounding "heh" but didn't really laugh. It some ways it kinda worried him a bit but he decided it wasn't gentlemanly to ask just yet. He would make sure to find out what was wrong but as for now he needed to get her to trust him more and maybe later confide in him.

Helga got on the back of his bike without a word, still feeling pretty bored and bland, her arms wrapped around his middle section and if she would have paid more attention she would have heard the small gasp coming from the boy in front of her. But alas she did not hear it and it would have been a shame since she felt nothing for this boy.

"Hold on tight," he said, although his voice squeaked a bit when he said it. He took them away from the bridge towards his house, the wind blowing on both of their faces. Arnold squinted his eyes when the sun hit down on his vision, Helga sighed when his hair kept tickling her nose. Taking a small sniff, she noticed how his hair smelled like some kind of wild berries or something—she couldn't figure it out.

_I knew he smelt like something. I guess I just figured it out. How—normal. _

Arnold felt Helga's arms tighten around his mid section; he blushed even more now, realizing that he was riding his bike towards his house with none other than Helga G. Pataki holding onto him for dear life.

_I guess it just feels a bit different since I've never ride my bike with a girl—a girl—_

His cheeks turn a brighter red thinking about it. _I guess she is a girl and, well—I can't believe I'm getting this embarrassed. I mean, it's just Helga_

They arrived at the boarding house, Arnold allowing Helga to get off the bike first; he couldn't help but notice her hair got a bit messy from the wind, the front of her hair now coming out of her pigtail and looking like messy bangs.

_She looks cute like that, _he thought, smiling softly to himself. He lead her towards the front door only to have all the animals run out and trip Helga in the process.

Arnold quickly caught her before she fell on the hard ground, his hand now in back of her head, they laid half on the stairs and half on the sidewalk. His hand began to remind him of the fall but he wasn't so worried about it. Now looking at Helga though he began to worry more. She didn't look hurt but what got to him was—there was no reaction at all.

Her azure eyes just stared back at him as if the life of her been sucked away somewhere. Even after something like this he at least expected some kind of reaction, perhaps a groan or maybe even some anger at the animals or even him for forgetting to warn her about them. The girl he was currently staring at was just staring right back at him though as if she was merely bored, her lips press together in a small frown. His eyes didn't move from her lips until her voice snapped him out of his trance.

"Are you going to just stare at me or help me up?"

Blushing bright red he stood up helping her onto her feet. "S-S-sorry Helga" he stood up helping her onto her feet. "Are you okay? You're not hurt, are you?"

Brushing the dirt from her clothes, she gave a shrug, looking lifeless as ever. "I'm fine Arnold, how are you? Are you okay?" staring into her eyes, it felt like something was terribly wrong—she wasn't acting normal at all.

"I'm fine it's just—Ow!" Looking down at his hand, he noticed for the first time it looked a bit red and scratched. He turned his hand to look at the back of it—it was slightly bleeding but it wasn't the worst pain ever.

"Your hand is bleeding, Arnold. Let's go inside and put something on it." Her voice flat and emotionless, she gently took his other hand and led him up the stairs, opening the door for him. Meanwhile as Arnold walked into the room with Helga he couldn't help but wonder if something wasn't seriously wrong with her.

"Kimba, is that you?" Gertie poke her head out from the kitchen. Her smile widened once she saw Helga behind him but her smile fell once she noticed Arnold holding an injured hand.

"What happened? Did the tiger sink his claws down on you?" Arnold lifted his head, looking up at Gertie. "No, I tripped by the stairs"

"Where is the first aid kit, I'll patch Arnold up," Helga said, looking at Gertie. For a moment Gertie didn't understand the seriousness in the girl's eyes and yet…just looking at the young girl standing before her, she looked…lost.

"Um…we've got one right here in the kitchen cupboard, Eleanor. Here, I'll get it for you…" Gertie spoke hesitantly to the young girl as she then headed over to the cupboard and pulled out a little white box with a red cross on the font. "Here you go…"

She handed it to Helga, who reached out a limp hand and took it. "Thank you, Mrs…"

"Gertie, dear, just call me Gertie…" Gertie replied, still with a lot of obvious concern in her tone. Then she raised an eyebrow at Helga for a moment and had to ask, "And…are you sure you're feeling alright yourself, dear? You seem a little…tired. Would you like to sit down, maybe have some tea to perk you up?"

Helga just shrugged, still holding the first aid kit. "Thanks but no thanks, Gertie. I'll just fix up Arnold and then the two of us are going to make some sandwiches and head over to Mighty Pete to eat them. It should be…okay." She let out a small, lackluster sigh, and then turned back to look at Arnold. "Come on, Arnold. Let's go sit down in your living room and we'll fix up your cut first." She glanced back at Gertie and gave a little nod. "Pleasure meeting you." And then she walked dully out of the kitchen and into the hallway, heading for the living room.

Arnold just watched her go, feeling more and more serious concern for her building up inside of himself. Something here was so very wrong. SO very wrong!

"Arnold?"

Arnold blinked at turned back to his grandmother at the sound of her addressing him. "Yeah, Grandma?"

Gertie looked at him with a little frown. "Arnold, please don't take this the wrong way but…what did you do to her exactly to make her like that?"

Arnold's eyes went wide for a second. _Do to her…? But I didn't_… He shook his head. "Grandma, I didn't do anything to her…She's just…been like that all day…and it was worrying me so I asked her if she wanted to spend some time together…so that maybe she'll trust me and open up to me and let me help her with whatever's bothering her." He looked up at the old woman sincerely.

Still though, Gertie frowned a bit, a sad look in her eyes. "Arnold…" she spoke very sincerely, "Listen, I…I know you would never do anything on purpose to make her how she is now but…" Gertie considered her words, not wanting to give anything away but still wanting to make her grandson take a long, hard look at the situation, "Think please, Kimba…about your last few days with her. Did you…maybe ignore her a little at one point, or say something unusual back to her at all when she was teasing you like she usually does…or were you maybe trying to 'play' a little too much with another little girl?"

Gertie had been a little afraid that her questions might have been too specific and that Arnold might have started to 'suspect' some things about his little blond friend currently in the living room.

To her relief, though, Arnold just stood there looking as innocent and clueless as he usually did about Helga. He really thought about his grandmother's question for a few moments, but then he looked back up at her and shook his head. "Grandma, nothing like that's been happening. We've just been the same as we've always been and I haven't been ignoring Helga extra or giving her extra attention or anything. And then she just showed up to school and now she's…well…you saw her! And that's why I have to help her!" He looked almost sad as he finished with, "She's not herself anymore! And I…um…miss her…" Arnold's eyes went a little wide and he blushed at this new realization that had not occurred to him until just now. He…wanted Helga back to the way she was, in part, because…he missed her like that. _But…why would anyone miss someone teasing them and taunting them and playing pranks on them and_… He let out a breath, feeling very confused, but then shook his head to clear it and decided that now was not the time. Right now he had to get Helga to open up to him. He could think more about his feelings about all of this later after their time together. He looked to his grandmother once more. "Anyway, Grandma, I'll just let her fix my cut and then we'll make something to eat and go talk in the tree house. I'm sure it'll be fine." He tried to smile a bit, though it was a little forced. "Bye Grandma!" And then he walked out of the kitchen and into the hall to join Helga in the living room.

Gertie just watched him go and let out a sigh and shook her head to herself a little, still with a frown. "Poor little Eleanor…I hope she's better soon." And then with this hope the old woman left the kitchen to finish up some more chores around the house.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Ow!" Arnold winced a little as Helga, seated beside him on his living room couch, put some antiseptic on his cut.

"Are you okay?" she asked dully at his little cry of pain, not even looking at him as she just put the little bottle of antiseptic spray back into the first aid kit.

The pain had subsided but Arnold still felt a tiny tug inside of himself at the fact that, well…Helga hadn't cared a little more about his little bit of pain just now. Maybe that seemed silly—after all, it had been a little spray of stuff to clean out his cut: not exactly a life-threatening situation. But still…usually, if something uncomfortable happened to him in their lives, it seemed like she had always kind of stopped and focused her attention on him for just a moment (even if it had usually been negative attention like teasing him a bit about getting himself hurt in the first place). Still though, at least back then she had CARED. But this…this was just…sad.

Helga turned to him now with a fresh band-aid. "Here, Arnold. Let me just put this on and then we're all done."

Arnold held out his hand to her. She took it…held it to put the bandage on it.

For a moment, that whole 'Helga's a girl' thing flashed through his mind again…brought on by the fact that now he was technically having his hand held by a girl. He tried not to think about it as she put the band-aid on him and then let his hand go.

"There, all better. You still good for this whole 'Mighty Pete picnic' thing, Arnold?" she asked casually, not really seeming to care much one way or the other.

Arnold cared though…very much, he realized now. He instantly nodded. "Of course, Helga. I'll make us some sandwiches and then we can go. U-Um…" he swallowed…blushed a tiny bit… "W-We can, um…take my bike over there…if you want…" He looked to her almost…hopefully.

She just let out a breath and shrugged though. "Whatever's easier. Walking, biking…it's all the same to me."

A definite frown came to his face. "O-Oh…" _But, um…i-if we take my bike then…it'll be easier to carry the picnic basket…_ Sticking to this logic, Arnold did his best to smile at Helga and reply in a joking tone, "Alright, then—bike it is!" He grinned ear to ear, hoping for SOMETHING…

"Whatever…"

But getting nothing. His smile deflated. "U-Um…alright then…" he stood up from the couch, "Let's make our sandwiches and then we can go, I guess…"

"Here Arnold, let me help you," she said politely still sounding dull. She took his uninjured hand, whether it was intentionally or non- intentionally Arnold didn't know but it didn't help the fact that he felt much better feeling the soft petal like touch of her hand.

Gently while they were walking down the steps he squeezed her hand feeling the texture: her hand was warm and soft, he would always touch her shoulder or her hand but never like this. It brought him great delight to be touching her this way. At first he always thought her hand would have been hard—actually did he ever think about her hand?

_I don't think I ever really thought about her hand before and it IS just a hand but—why am I thinking like this? Maybe I need to lay down or something. This is just too weird for me, I'm actually thinking about holding Helga's hand! _

His cheeks burned and he felt light headed at his sudden thoughts.

Helga, meanwhile, just continued walking down the stairs just thinking about how many darn steps there were.

After arriving in the kitchen Helga sat Arnold down just pushing him to sit down.

"You're injured so I'll make our sandwiches," she said roaming through the refrigerator searching for the lunch meat. Luckily Arnold's grandparents had gone shopping this morning and she found some fresh lettuce, cheese, ham and pastrami.

Taking out the items she needed she laid them on the table and went towards the right cabinet to grab some zip-lock bags to hold the sandwiches, closing the door and opening the bottom left hand draw to get a butter knife. She laid the items on the table and went to grab some sandwich dressing from the refrigerator and some juice from the pitcher. She laid more items on the table.

Throughout this whole event Arnold watched her in confusion. Something about this felt odd but he couldn't put his finger on it. His eyes followed her when she bent down in the refrigerator to pull out two cold yahoo sodas.

"Do you think we should take two more in case?" she asked still bent down.

"Yeah if you want. We'll be there for a long while so bring four bottles"

Helga grabbed them and set them on the table. She was so focused on the task at hand that she didn't notice Arnold still staring at her.

"So Lettuce, dressing, ham and cheese right?" she asked, already knowing his answer.

Arnold just nodded. "Um…yeah…That should be…everything…"

Helga just nodded at his response, not even looking up at him, and then started placing their food and beverages in the picnic basket she had snatched from the top of the fridge.

As she packed, Arnold thought some more. And blushed a little too. _She, um…She's certainly very willing to spend time with me now, isn't she? _Something about the idea made something flip in a funny way in his stomach. Not that she was 'begging' to spend time with him or anything but…Arnold doubted he could have gotten the 'old Helga' to go on a private picnic with him…or at least not without a LOT of coaxing. And yet at the same time…Arnold knew inside that he would have preferred coaxing the old Helga into a picnic with him rather than having this new Helga be willing to go on one with him just because he wanted it and she didn't really care either way. It just would have been more fun the first way and also he would have been less worried about her.

Arnold continued to watch her packing everything away…and his thoughts continued with something else that was now on his mind, though he felt kind of weird for thinking about it. It was just that…with how she was always just kind of showing up for a second to torture him and then stomping away and also with how, whenever his eyes turned in her direction, she immediately blinked and then glared at him so that he would turn away…he never had much time in his life to really just 'notice' Helga G. Pataki. But now here she was, in his kitchen, practically making him lunch, for crying out loud! And so now he could really just sit and observe and notice her. It was like finding a rare butterfly and watching it and being afraid to breathe lest you disturbed it and sent it fluttering away forever.

Arnold's face instantly went hot and his breath caught in his throat. _Did…I just compare Helga to a butterfly? _He blinked a lot of times. _A-And why do I care about noticing her anyway…?_ Still though his gaze returned to focus on her…and he found himself liking the time to observe her more and more. She was tall…her skin was pale and yet had just a touch of healthy color…She had blond hair and…blue eyes. He blinked._ I…almost forgot that they were blue. _It really had been so long since she had let him look at them…Actually he couldn't remember the last time he had looked at them but he felt like there had indeed been a time, probably when they had been really little, that she had let him do so without scowling and turning away…So, yeah, blue eyes…And that skin of hers that (as he had thought to himself before) really was soft like a petal or something…

Arnold's heart had been beating faster and faster and FASTER as he had let himself think these things out and now it was pounding so hard that he couldn't ignore it anymore and had to take his eyes away from Helga and actually grip his sweater a little over his chest. _Wh-What's wrong with me? I…Uh…_

"Ready to go, Arnold?"

Helga's dull voice broke upon his ears and with a small gasp a practically sweating and blushing and wide-eyed Arnold looked up at her. "I…um…" her question processed and he managed a little nod, already starting to feel his body calm down a little now that his thoughts were focused on something besides Helga. "Th-The picnic…I…yes, Helga…I-I'm ready." With a little gulp he stood up and then took the picnic basket and gestured forward with his free arm out of the kitchen. "Um, l-ladies first…" _Uh oh_… That weird palpitating feeling of his heart started to pick up a little again, and he just did his best to take a deep breath in and out and take it in stride._ You're fine. You probably just had one too many Yahoo sodas with Gerald after school before you ran into Helga. It's just the caffeine giving you a small rush. You're fine. _He managed to smile about this logic…though it was a bit of a shaky one…as he waited for her to walk forward.

Grabbing the basket Helga followed Arnold to the living room. Upon arriving they both saw Phil busy reading his newspaper on the couch. He took a moment to fold down the top side of the paper to see both Arnold and Helga.

"Oh Arnold, I didn't know you invited your little girl over, ha-ha."

Inwardly Helga rolled her eyes at his words wondering why Arnold's grandpa even called her "Little."

_Crimeny I'm taller than the shrimp besides why would I be considered "little". _Another thought occurred to her_. I wish I didn't feel this bored, I've been pretty much bored and I don't care about anything at all, which now thinking about it—shouldn't I feel more—normal? I mean the love potion was only suppose to take away my love for Arnold but now it seems like it took anyway my love for—everything. Maybe this is how the potion was suppose to work? I really need to think before doing things. Perhaps I can go back and find out more information about the spell—wait, why do I care? Meh—I guess I don't really care although I think I should care. Maybe it's the spell—wait why am I talking to myself. _

"We're going to have a picnic in Mighty Pete, we just came here to make some sandwiches" Arnold felt his entire face down to his neck warming up. _Why am I feeling this way? I don't see a reason to feel—well—embarrassed_

"Oh a—picnic eh? Heh heh heh, well Arnold I guess you ought to be going." Phil raised his eyebrow in a suggestive manner. Without thinking Arnold's hand grabbed hold of Helga's free hand and he started walking her towards the door. "Okay, bye, Grandpa!" he said, quickly running out the front door with Helga.

Helga stood outside of his house now looking at Arnold who seemed to be breathing a bit hard, as if he had been running for a mile. "What's gotten into you, Arnold?" Her voice sounded more mellow and flat then concerned.

"Huh?" his heart rapidly pounded inside of his chest. Helga began to walk down the stoop when Arnold's voice caught her attention. "Um—Helga?"

Picking up some nervousness in his voice, she began to wonder what he was thinking. She turn to see Arnold's right arm rubbing his elbow while leaning to the side, his head cast downward looking at the ground. It was an odd sight for a boy who normally had a cool and calm expression.

"Hm?" she asked not having any concern about what he would say which had struck him odd.

"H-How did—Well, I know this might sound a bit crazy but-how did you know how to make my sandwich?"

"It's just a sandwich, Arnoldo." Shrugging her shoulders, Helga turned to walk down the steps.

"I know that but-well what I wanted to ask is-how did you know where everything in my house was so that you could make it?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Oh that, trust me you don't want to know." She waved it off as if it were merely nothing of importance to her. Taking two more steps Arnold's voice again stopped her from reaching the bottom step.

"But I _do,_" he insisted, hoping she would shed some kind of light on the situation. It was an odd feeling in the back of his mind pushing him to find out the real answer. He couldn't quite place his finger on it.

A few things happen that changed his life; the first thing was the look she gave him as if it really was nothing but a normal conversation of a friend asking how your day was. The second thing was the way his heart sped up when he heard the words she said back to him, and lastly it took him a few moments to completely comprehend what she had just said.

"I used to stalk you a lot for the last few years, so I pretty much know your house by heart. That's the reason why I know where everything is. Although—to be honest, I never spent so much time in the kitchen before."

* * *

><p><strong>-Azure129 and BrokenRose runs into the back alley, sweat drips down their forms while their heart beats rapidly, BrokenRose knocks down a trash can to prevent the Angry mob of readers with torches from getting any closer to them.-<strong>

**BrokenRose turns to Jenna panting but smiling cheekily "Didn't (Pants)…I tell ya (Pants)…best cliffy ending (pants)…ever!"**

**_More to Come!_**


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